Portrait lighting: one light

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Many photographers use complex set-ups with many lights. This can give spectacular results. But equally spectacular –different- results can be made with just one light. And it is an interesting challenge, as well as a very practical skill, to make good and interesting light with one light.

I will show some possibilities for portraits.

The placement of the light determines where the shadows fall. When the light is high the shadows fall below, when the light is on the left the shadows fall on the right. When the light is close to the lens, the shadows are small, when the light is at a wide angle to the lens, the shadows are big.

I start with an open flash, with no light modifier. This gives hard light, because the light source is small. Hard light gives very strong shadows, so it gives a clear idea of what the placement of the flash is doing for the photo.

Model Priscillar volunteered for these photos, thank you Priscillar.

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In photo 1, we see on camera flash. This is rarely successful portrait lighting. It gives flat lighting with extremely small shadows. Because the camera was tilted to portrait format the flash is on the left side and that puts the shadow on the right hand side.

In photo 2, I put the flash on a stand above the camera,very slightly to the right, to keep the stand out of the picture. You see a larger shadow under the chin and elbow. Notice how moving the flash away from the camera gives a much more natural look than on camera flash. The shadows show the shape of the face and the texture of the shirt much better. The most natural light source, the sun, is usually above us.

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In photo 3, I lowered the flash again to eye level, and moved it to the right. This gives small shadows to the left of the nose and cheek.

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In photo 4, I moved the stand further to the side, showing bigger shadows at the nose and cheek.

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In photo 5, I moved the light all the way to the side, making half the face lit and half the face in the shadow. This is clearly a special effect that you don't use in a standard commercial portrait, but for an artistic effect it can work. The dark side of the face is slightly lit by light that bounces off the walls of the room. To make it pure black, you would have to put a black curtain or something similar next to the dark side of the face to block any light reaching it. Notice that the angle of the light is so acute that there is very little light on the background. It is the same white wall as in the other photos, but since it is not lit, it comes out dark.

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In photo 6, I placed a gold reflector to the dark side of Priscillar, giving light to the shadow side of the face. The placement of the shadow is the same as in the previous photo, but the reflector opens up the shadow so we see more detail. The yellowish colour comes from the gold reflector, if you want neutral colour you use a white or silver reflector.

All these photos were done with the face of the model (more or less) straight to the camera. Later we will look at the possibilities when you turn the face at an angle.

I encourage all photographers to make a lot of these test photos, so you get to know your equipment, your studio, and what light does for different faces. Some people have a very round face, some have a slim face, some have deep eye sockets, others have shallower eye sockets. Also, many people have one side of the face looking better than the other. This can be a consideration to turn the face one side or the other.

Once you have decided on the light (with a number of test photos), you communicate with the model to get the best pose and expression. Here you see me showing model Stella how I would like her to pose. Behind her you see the gold reflector we used for the photo of Priscilla. Top left you see the umbrella I used to light Stella.

 The photo of Stella, using one light. In this case I used it with a silver umbrella, on the right above the model. You see the position of the light from the shadows under her cheek and bottom, and from the catch-lights in her eyes. To learn about lighting, it is a good idea to reverse engineer photos you like. Reverse engineering means: from the look of the photo, you deduce how the lighting was done, where the lights were placed. The catch-lights in the eyes are a great help in this.